Ronaldinho played in Barcelona’s opening game, against Athletic Bilbao, with Frank Rijkaard’s side winning via a Phillip Cocu goal.

But Barcelona had a problem. With the international break looming, and Ronaldinho set to fly to Brazil for a game against Ecuador, they urgently needed to get their game against Sevilla rearranged or face fielding a weakened side.

Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta tried to move the game to the day before, but Sevilla insisted on sticking to Wednesday, much to Barcelona’s annoyance.

Laporta came up with a cunning plan, ensuring Ronaldinho could make his Barcelona home debut and then fly off to Brazil to play for the Selecao. The game would kick off at 12.05am on Wednesday morning.

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